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LP
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TAL 022LP
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Reissue of Konrad Kraft's mid'80s electronic underground recordings, Accident In Heaven. Originally released in 1987 as a hand-made micro-edition of about 40 cassette tapes. It was only the third ever release on the short-lived now near legendary SDV label which had been established that same year by Konrad Kraft, Bernd Sevens, and Dino Oon in Düsseldorf. Accident In Heaven is a strong testament to the explorative experiments of Detlef Funder, aka Konrad Kraft, whose homebuilt studio sound attempted to bridge the clinical roughness of Severed Heads and the psychedelia of Coil with the density and force of industrial, post-punk and proto techno. Concurrent with his ever-expanding production skills, Konrad Kraft's sound work in the second half of the '80s stayed firmly rooted within a highly stylized underground spirit. Both his music and also the freshly launched SDV label first and foremost served as a medium for communication. The vital urgency of Accident In Heaven underlines the record's core narrative which arguably sounds even more futuristic today than it did 30 years ago. Hallmarks of Accident In Heaven are an 8-track tape recorder, a Yamaha DX7 synth and a Roland 707 drum computer and the late '80s internationally ubiquitous shift from analogue to digital music production. Whilst its predecessor Arctica (another cassette-only release from 1986/87) was significantly more experimental and almost an in-between-states affair, Accident In Heaven was the point at which Konrad Kraft really began to experiment with beat structures, sequenced synth pads and the framework of "dance" music. However, the rhythmic elements are submerged so far beneath his expertly crafted drones it's almost impossible to label these sounds as "dancefloor oriented" work at all, as the tracks on the album joyfully disrespect the rules and boundaries of that or indeed any other genre. Accident In Heaven also epitomizes the decade's ending energy and sharp momentum with its successful merging of highly individual production and irresistible rhythm tracks. The rich wealth of references is mirrored within the silhouettes and the graphics of the album's unique artwork, which was created by Dino Oon. The new mastering has all sounds on Accident In Heaven emerge in fresh shades and three dimensional plasticity, inviting the listener not to merely revisit the full palette of Konrad Kraft's creation but offering an entirely new sound experience. Includes printed inner sleeve and download code edition of 400.
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CD
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TAL 008CD
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Tal present the first reissue of Konrad Kraft's Arctica, originally released on cassette on SDV Tonträger in 1987 in a handmade edition of about 50 copies. Pioneering production from the Düsseldorf mid '80s electronic underground world. Transferred for the first ever time from the original cassette to vinyl and CD. Konrad Kraft (Detlef Funder) is one of the still overlooked producers of Düsseldorf's fertile electronic music scene. Reduced to its essential musical elements, Arctica certainly contains some of the most uncategorizable and bewildering pieces of mid-eighties electronic music. Set between the areas of post punk and early techno, the album undulates between analog as well as digital instrumentation. After Konrad Kraft's appearance on the enthusiastically received compilation Sammlung: Elektronische Kassettenmusik, Dusseldorf 1982-1989 (BB 236CD/LP, 2017). Cassettes were the medium of choice for self-produced recordings at the time. At the time of the Arctica sessions, the newly set up SDV studio consisted of a Tascam 38, an eight-track tape recorder, and only a handful of synthesizers such as a Roland JX3P and a Korg Monopoly. The style of Konrad Kraft's productions displayed (ever since and up until today), a strong adherence to an idea of continual self-creation and a quality of wanting to be responsible for one's own identity. Even three decades after its recording, Arctica still evokes images of an expedition into an edgy cold place which has strange wonders, polar lights, structures of ice and innumerable worlds and creatures in store. Konrad Kraft (who today runs Paraschall mastering studios): "In the early '70s I got a transistor radio as a gift and immediately fell in love with the shortwaves. So many different sounds that was truly fascinating. I can imagine that nowadays as music is endlessly compressed to fit into mobile phones and as music on the radio sounds dreadfully the same, there might be a renewed interest by a young generation in discovering electronic sounds. I can listen to Arctica much better now than when it originally came out, because there is a distance which allows me to approach the recordings on a more neutral plane . . . Arctica seems to sound even more contemporary today than it did in 1987." First CD issue. CD version includes 16-page booklet; Edition of 300.
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LP
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TAL 008LP
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LP version. Includes full-size insert and download code; Edition of 400. Tal present the first reissue of Konrad Kraft's Arctica, originally released on cassette on SDV Tonträger in 1987 in a handmade edition of about 50 copies. Pioneering production from the Düsseldorf mid '80s electronic underground world. Transferred for the first ever time from the original cassette to vinyl and CD. Konrad Kraft (Detlef Funder) is one of the still overlooked producers of Düsseldorf's fertile electronic music scene. Reduced to its essential musical elements, Arctica certainly contains some of the most uncategorizable and bewildering pieces of mid-eighties electronic music. Set between the areas of post punk and early techno, the album undulates between analog as well as digital instrumentation. After Konrad Kraft's appearance on the enthusiastically received compilation Sammlung: Elektronische Kassettenmusik, Dusseldorf 1982-1989 (BB 236CD/LP, 2017). Cassettes were the medium of choice for self-produced recordings at the time. At the time of the Arctica sessions, the newly set up SDV studio consisted of a Tascam 38, an eight-track tape recorder, and only a handful of synthesizers such as a Roland JX3P and a Korg Monopoly. The style of Konrad Kraft's productions displayed (ever since and up until today), a strong adherence to an idea of continual self-creation and a quality of wanting to be responsible for one's own identity. Even three decades after its recording, Arctica still evokes images of an expedition into an edgy cold place which has strange wonders, polar lights, structures of ice and innumerable worlds and creatures in store. Konrad Kraft (who today runs Paraschall mastering studios): "In the early '70s I got a transistor radio as a gift and immediately fell in love with the shortwaves. So many different sounds that was truly fascinating. I can imagine that nowadays as music is endlessly compressed to fit into mobile phones and as music on the radio sounds dreadfully the same, there might be a renewed interest by a young generation in discovering electronic sounds. I can listen to Arctica much better now than when it originally came out, because there is a distance which allows me to approach the recordings on a more neutral plane . . . Arctica seems to sound even more contemporary today than it did in 1987."
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